Chapter 12
Looking down at the small pile of ashes – all that was left of Victor – Seras sighed and shook her head.
"Regardless of how powerful you are, you are all the same at the end," she muttered coldly, "If you live like a monster, then you will die like a monster. It's creatures like you that make me question my existence every now and then. I may be a monster in the body, but I'm not a monster in my heart… for the most part. Having a monstrous body doesn't compel anyone to a have monstrous heart. So, why are you all the same?"
I too have pondered upon that question for many years…"
Seras turned around swiftly, taking defensive stance and getting ready for another battle, but, to her surprise, saw a silhouette who was tranquilly standing by a tree nearby.
"Please, don't misinterpret the situation, Seras Victoria the Draculina," he said calmly, "I'm not here to fight you or harm you in any way… And I apologize if I made you think otherwise."
Such polite, personal and formal address, combined with the overall awkwardness of the circumstances, perplexed her.
"W-what?" was all that she managed to utter in response.
"I perfectly understand your confusion," the person smiled, "And the first thing that I'd like to say to you is that you must never denigrate your existence by comparing yourself to the likes of him. You are the rarity among us, and he… well, like you said, he was just an ordinary monster with monstrous heart… "
"Us? You mean monsters, right?"
"Yes. In one sense or another."
"My instincts are telling me to be extremely wary right now," she smirked, "Because, aside from my Master, all other monsters that I have ever met tried to kill me… or at least plotted to."
"It has always been like that," the person sighed, "The majority of us have always tended to assume roles which have never been forced onto them. Like the one whose pathetic remains lie before your feet. Speaking of which, I need to thank you…"
"Thank me? For what?"
"For ridding the world of this excretion of Hell that happened to be my son…"
Seras's eyes widened in disbelief.
"Your son? Are you saying that you let me kill your son while you watched?"
"And that was a spectacular sight, I must say. But yes, I let you kill him and didn't interfere. What's more, I played his unduly high sense of superiority in order to make him come here and get killed by you. And what's even more, I would have killed him myself a long time ago if I could. Unfortunately, it is a part of my kind's nature to be unable to turn against one's own lineage…"
"What? I don't understand pretty much anything at this point, but what kind of a father does that make you if you had seriously considered killing your child?" Seras looked at the man contemptuously.
"Your reaction is a definite indicator that your heart is indeed not that of a monster, Seras Victoria. But as I have already told you, please, don't misinterpret the situation. I have always tried to be a good father to my children. My first six turned out quite well. Born monsters into human world, they embraced every shred of their humanness and have tried as hard as they could to cast aside their innate bestial selves. But Victor was completely different. He came much later, during very different times. Having him was one of the gravest mistakes of my life. Born a monster into human world, he had a choice to make. And he chose the way of the monster. The path of cruelty. The road of blood. The life of getting pleasure from bringing pain and death to others. Do you know how many humans he has killed for the sole purpose of indulging his monstrous urges during the last two hundred years? I don't even know myself. People go missing every day in this world, and who knows how many of them have disappeared because of him. Throughout his entire life I've been trying to turn him around, but my efforts were vain. A werewolf cannot go against his own flesh and blood, so I couldn't end his wretched existence by myself. And I presume that none of his opponents until today have ever been even close to his level. While I understand that you might find it cruel of anyone who dares to call himself a father to say things like that, but an unbearable weight has been lifted from my shoulder today. I'm very grateful to you, Seras Victoria. However, no matter what I did and how much I tried, I would never be able to make amends to the world for the evil that came out of my flesh and blood in the form of my son. The toll that his existence has taken on his victims has always been and will be my burden until my end. Fortunately, I don't feel that I have much time left…"
After he finished talking, there was a long moment of silence. Dumbfounded by what she had just heard, Seras was looking past him, far into the forest. She didn't know what to say or do at that point. Nor she knew if she could believe him or, for that matter, if she even had to concern herself with it.
"What's your name?" she finally asked the first question of choice that popped up in her mind.
"It's Vseslav," he responded calmly, "Also known as Vseslav the Seer, Vseslav the Sorcerer, Vseslav of Polotsk. But I don't suppose that those variations mean anything to you unless you possess deep knowledge of Medieval Slavic history. And I don't think that you do. I'm not trying to offend you in any way, but I just think that it is quite uncommon to find anyone nowadays who is interested in any history whatsoever, let alone the history of Medieval Slavs."
"Medieval? Hm… Are you implying that you are… How old are you? V-Vseslav, is it?"
"Much too old," he smirked, "But if such vague answer does not satisfy your interest, then I can give you a more meaningful estimate – I'm roughly three hundred years older than your Master."
"I see," she replied ponderingly and slightly curiously, and then eyed him again, this time more carefully, "But you know, somehow I don't get surprised much by anything anymore… Perhaps, I should be, but even thirty years spent in the world that lies far beyond human understanding and reasoning makes most unusual things seem rather drab."
"I agree completely. And it's only natural this way," Vseslav nodded lightly, looking at her, "Also, I don't want to impose, but you look beautiful in moonlight, Seras Victoria. And the sight of your own blood on your face gives it a mysteriously attractive touch that only a monster could really appreciate…"
In response, she only wiped her face with her hand. Without saying a word, they continued staring at each other for a while. As the silence started becoming awkward and tense, Seras broke it without any hesitation, having lost patience.
"So, what now?" she asked sternly, "I just killed your son, and you regarded that as a favor. That's fine by me, because he got what he deserved, and it's really not my business to pass judgment on you in this case. But somehow I now feel that there is more to all this. Am I right, Vseslav?"
"Unfortunately, yes," he replied, "The death of my son was not even a part of the depraved plan of the man whose instructions I was expected to follow. According to them, I was supposed to murder you before your Master's eyes…"
Seras's shadowy arm immediately transformed into multiple spear-like projections, and they bunched around her, defending her, pointing in all directions and quivering like scorpion's stingers.
"Well, best of luck with that," she smirked, glaring at Vseslav, "And what is the point of that plan anyway? What do you mean before my Master's eyes? He is obviously not here..."
"Of course he isn't," Vseslav responded calmly, "Because he is supposed to be somewhere else right now. And you are supposed to be here. Both of you are supposed to be away from each other and from the Hellsing Headquarters… According to the plan, that is…"
It took a moment for those words settle in her mind, and the she felt blood chilling in her veins as she realized the terrifying implication.
"Sir Integra… Bennett… " she whispered in shock.
"While it is only natural for you to worry about them in such situation, there is actually no need to, believe me," Vseslav said in such inappropriately soothing tone that it was unclear at first whether he was being genuine or just teasing, "The creature that was supposed to eliminate them has effectively eliminated himself a number of years ago. Having lost his belief in collective humanity, he gave up his own humanity. I suspect that he, just like my son, thought that he had found something extraordinary in living like a true monster. In truth, however, the only thing that he had found was his own inevitable demise by the hand of those whom he considered his prey. That is the true fate of a true monster. And his will not be any different. The Hellsing manor will become his tomb tonight, if it hasn't already…"
"You're speaking with such certainty as if you personally have control over any of that," Seras said irritably and anxiously at the same time, unsure what to do next.
"I have seen more than enough during my life to be able to speak with such certainty, Seras Victoria. The only thing that justice is contingent upon is time. Humans or monsters, everyone gets their just deserts sooner or later. And I'm sure that you too have seen evidence of that. But in this case you don't even need to bother your memory for examples. All you have to do is look down by your feet at whatever is left of my foolish son. He got his just deserts. And so will the man whose vile ambitions have brought us face to face tonight. His plan is such an abominable product of perfect harmony of vindictive mind and black heart that even demons from the deepest pits of Hell would probably regard it highly. But no matter how well this plan has been thought through, it is crumbling on all sides as we speak. Until this point, the route that that man had offered me has been taking me along the path that I wanted to follow. But here is where I part in direction of my own choosing. I do not intend to help him satisfy his spiteful desires…"
"Enough!" Seras exclaimed angrily and impatiently, "I don't really care why our enemies do what they do! And I don't care what you want, either! The only thing that matters at times like that is that others declare war against us and that we have to fight back. I don't give a damn what their motives are. I have lived by that principle for the last thirty years, and it is not going to change now! And you better be correct about Bennett and Sir Integra being all right. I simply cannot even imagine the alternative. But somehow I know that I can trust your words. I cannot explain that feeling – I don't know you and yet I have no doubt that you are telling the truth. But I want to know who that man is. You said that just deserts were only contingent upon time. Well, he determined his time when he decided to go against us. Now, tell me, who is that man?"
"You will find out who that creature with human body and monstrous heart is soon enough," Vseslav replied composedly, "But only after I get what I need. I hate to put it this way, Seras Victoria, but there is something that I need from you, and I intend to get it no matter what."
"So, that's how it is," she uttered gravely, staring fiercely at him, "You seem to be a very poor negotiator, Vseslav. But just out of curiosity, what is it that you need with me?"
"Not much really. All I need you to do is to summon your Master right here and right now. I must fight him in order to make my ultimate wish of many centuries to finally come true…"
"Hah," she smirked, "Two things. Firstly, I don't know what you are talking about. He is obviously not here, and I don't know where he is, let alone how to summon him here. And secondly, even if I knew, I would never set him up like that."
"Please, don't make it harder on both of us," Vseslav sighed and shook his head in discontent, "To answer you first point, just because you have never done it before doesn't mean that you cannot communicate to him while he is not around. I'm sure that you have heard him talking to you in your mind before. You can talk to him in the same way. Since he was the one who has given you your afterlife, his mind and yours are connected. You just haven't discovered your side of that connection yet, but it is easy to do right here on the spot. Now, with regards to your refusing to set him up… It's admirable and all, but you are not actually setting him up, if you think about it. I'm not laying a trap for him; I just want to have a clean fight. One monster versus another. In fact, I'm sure that he will appreciate that a great deal. Either way, you will be doing nothing wrong if you call him. And I need to make it perfectly clear to you, Seras Victoria – I will not accept refusal. First, I will ask. Then I will demand. And then I will force you. But I have to warn you that if you make me stoop to that level, I cannot guarantee your safety. You see, there is a certain part of my monstrous being that I cannot control. This part of me forces me to crush any resistance and opposition with all my might and ferocity. The only way that a struggle between me and someone else can end is if at least one of us dies. With that in mind, what can you infer from the fact that I've been walking this Earth for a thousand years, Seras Victoria? One of the most difficult things for me has always been finding ways to avoid confrontations. Because all of them ended exactly the same. I've lived the majority of my life in solitude in order to avoid having to succumb to my bestial urges and kill innocent people. And I don't want to kill you. So, I'm going to ask again. Please, call your Master right now."
They stared each other in the face for a while. With inviting and even somewhat imploring expression on his face, Vseslav was waiting for response. On the other hand, the stubbornly defiant look on Seras's face was indicating fairly clearly that she was not about to change her mind.
"No," she finally replied coldly.
Vseslav eyes widened momentarily, as in shock. His teeth and fists clenched impulsively, and his breathing became labored. As rage started quickly building inside of him, his body began shaking while he was still trying to restrain himself.
"Why!? Why must you be so foolishly brave now!?" he exclaimed furiously, "Don't wager your life for something senseless like that, Seras Victoria! Don't awaken the monstrous side of me for something that we can easily settle without pain and blood! I will not be denied! Do you hear me?! I will not be denied! Don't push your luck and don't push me any further! Call him! Now!"
Seras was completely taken aback for a second but then regained control over her emotions.
"No," she repeated assertively.
"I will not be denied! You will do what I say!"
Before Seras could even get herself ready for an attack, she realized that she was already in a restraining hold, and Vseslav was behind her, twisting her arm. Even her vampiric vision turned out to be incapable of tracking his incredible speed. Her shadowy spears immediately tried to pierce him but got deflected by his radiant aura, which kept slowly expanding. Surrounded by it, Seras felt burning sensation all over her body. She tried to wrestle herself away from him and was terrified when her attempt proved completely futile. His power felt overwhelming and unyielding.
"You are making it harder and harder for me not to kill you, Seras Victoria," she heard his hoarse voice above her ear, "I don't even remember the last time when I struggled so much against my own nature… Please, just do as I say and live! I will not… be able to hold off… for much longer… Please…"
Seras heard Vseslav groan strenuously, and then one of his clawed paws appeared before her face. The sight of his blade-like claws nearing her eyes evoked in her mind the subconscious memory from thirty years ago of the moment when she lost her human vision…
"Master! MASTER! MASTEEEER!"
At that very second, many kilometers away, Alucard shuddered as if he had been suddenly stabbed in the heart. Standing around multitude of dead bodies and covered in blood from head to toe, he realized that Seras was telepathically calling him. Wherever she was, he knew that he had to be there right away. Without saying a word, he disappeared.
Having understood that he had left her world and was gone from the area altogether, Elizabeth dropped flat on her stomach in the pool of blood around her and began sobbing hysterically. The only thing that she knew at that point was that she had been spared for the time being and was not going to die imminently, and the hopeless relief from that thought meant more to her than anything else had ever done…
When Alucard appeared in the middle of the forest, the first thing he saw was Seras's horror-stricken face and grisly claws that were about to plunge into it. It seemed that there was no time to assess the situation, and the best course of action had to be decided on the spot. He vanished, and in the next moment multiple shadowy arms appeared out of Seras's body. They grabbed Vseslav and lifted him in the air. Freed from his grasp, Seras quickly turned around and saw him being held above the ground, with the shadowy arms clutching him all over. The realization that all those arms were extending out of her own body was shocking, but she knew that she had nothing to be afraid of.
"I had to use your body to get as close to him as you were, Seras. I'm sorry, but there was just no other more sudden way to do that. Are you all right?" she heard Alucard's voice in her mind.
"Y-yes, Master," she somewhat hesitantly, "And I'm sorry."
"I don't understand what you are apologizing for, Seras. But we can talk about that later. Now, try to stay out of the way. The fact that he managed to subdue you means that he is far from an ordinary monster."
"He is…"
"Well, that just makes it much more interesting then, doesn't it?"
He slowly walked out of Seras's body, looking like a gigantic, monstrous spider, with numerous shadowy arms sticking out. He looked coldly at Vseslav and then grinned maliciously.
"Whoever you are, you must realize that now I'm obliged to kill you in the most gruesome way that my mind can come up with at this moment!" he exclaimed ominously, "I hope that you weren't expecting to just die by my hand after you assaulted one of my most treasured persons."
"Of course not," Vseslav smirked, "Because where would be the fun in that?"
The aura around him suddenly flared up, dissolving portions of the shadowy arms that were holding him. Excited, anticipating and taken aback at the same time, Alucard watched his opponent freeing himself and descending on the ground on his feet.
"It's an honor to finally meet you, Vlad the Impaler."
Meanwhile, back at the Hellsing mansion, Integra and Bennett were assessing the situation while sitting behind the computer in his exceedingly orderly room.
"… and with that, it appears that we have several pairs of corresponding good and bad news," Bennett continued, "The good news is that none of the members of the manor's defensive forces appear to have been injured or killed. The bad news is that all of them seem to be in a coma-like state and the full report on their condition will not be available for at least two hours, according to the chief of our medical staff. When he and brigades arrived, he immediately said that in-house treatment was out of question. The mansion obviously does not have the bed capacity to accommodate them all, and we cannot expect their condition to remain stable. So, as you ordered, all of them are being transported to the hospital as we speak. There, all the necessary examinations will be conducted, and I suspect that the two-hour timeframe that we have been given will extend at least twofold, maybe more. The other side of the equation, of course, is that these circumstances also imply that our headquarters have been completely stripped of its human-based defenses for an unspecified amount of time. With that in mind, I've taken the liberty of contacting our reserve unit and delivered your orders to mobilize forthwith. You haven't actually ordered that when you spoke about our alternatives earlier, but you suggested that, and I thought that that would be the best course of action for the moment. Our reserve troops are supposed to be arriving within the hour. However, their number will not fully compensate for our main staff, and we will be shorthanded."
"Yes, that's pretty much expected," Integra nodded, "What's the latest update on communications?"
"I'm afraid that we don't have one, ma'am," Bennett shook his head slightly, browsing through results of his system tests on the screen, "The good news, of course, is that the main communication channels have been restored and we have been able to send all necessary alerts and to summon all required emergency staff. The bad news is that we are still unable to reach miss Victoria or mister Alucard. Miss Victoria's device appears to be simply turned off, while mister Alucard… I'm not exactly sure how to interpret the results from the satellite tracking of his receiver, but… mister Alucard doesn't appear to be present in this world at all…"
"What!?" Integra exclaimed irately and rose from the chair, "Don't tell me that! Check it again!"
"Of course, ma'am," Bennett replied calmly, refreshing the data, "I suspect it to be a system glitch, but I cannot be… oh, wait… the tracking seems to be picking him up again. These are mister Alucard's coordinates, and… hm… am I going insane or these coordinates correspond to…"
"Richmond Park!" Integra finished his sentence heatedly, looking at the screen, and then slammed his fist on the table, "That doesn't make any sense! What is going on, dammit!?"
"My guess is as good as mine, Sir Integra."
"Well, whatever it is, it has to be related to everything else that happened tonight…" she gritted he teeth and then sharply stepped away from the table, "And I'm not going to just sit and wait! I need to know right now!"
"What do you intend to do, ma'am?"
"I'll go there, of course! I just hope I still remember how to fly the damn helicopter by myself."
"You cannot be serious, ma'am," Bennett looked at her questioningly and stood up, "You are not saying that you are going to go there along, are you?"
"That's exactly what I'm saying, Bennett!"
"What about me? I have flown that helicopter recently, and I…"
"No," she cut him short, "I need you to stay here and manage the situation. Our reserve forces are going to need directions once they arrive. The agencies of the Round Table need to be notified as well. I want you to take care of that. And I also need you to feed me all the latest information right into my earpiece! I need you here, Bennett, do you understand?"
"Of course, ma'am," he nodded, "But if I may opine, all these requests are much lower on the list of priorities than your own safety. And besides… I'm not trying to undermine your stance, but how do you expect to help them?"
"I don't. If Alucard is there, then that means that he will take everything under his control one way or another. All I want to do is to be there and find out firsthand what is happening. That is my duty as their Master and Hellsing's leader. You are to stay here and substitute for me while I'm gone. Please, don't make me order you around after what we have gone through today, Bennett. Just do ask I ask. By the way, try contacting Alucard now and let him know that I will be arriving. He will not be able to respond, of course, but he will at least know… Somehow I think that abandoning everything and returning safely along with Seras is not an option that he will consider right now…"
"Yes, ma'am," Bennett bowed his head compliantly, "But please, be careful."
"Something like that sounds quite hypocritical coming from a person who purposely let a vampire bit him just a little while ago," Integra smirked and headed out of the room.
Bennett smiled contently in response and bowed again. As she left the room, he sat down and opened the top drawer where he kept contact information on the member of Round Table. Knowing how easy it was to obtain, manipulate and destroy information stored on any electronic device, he had always maintained hard copies of everything and tried to make sure that Hellsing's vital information existed only as hard copies. In spite of the fact that such scrupulousness presented obvious hardships for Hellsing's operations, Bennett, being the record keeper, almost always had the last word and would rarely budge.
Pulling out his dual-lock fireproof-cased notebook, he turned his attention to the glass tube with the crossbow bolt that Seras and Alucard brought back from their operation. He put the notebook on the table, removed the tube from the drawer and held it with both hands for a moment. Then, an unexpected, sly smirk appeared on his face.
"How interesting," Alucard smirked, eyeing his opponent, "You are the second person who called me that within the last couple of days. I find it rather curious, considering that I haven't been called that for ages. But the first person, as it turned out, only did that for the show…"
"Well, I wouldn't expect anything else from somebody whose own epithet is supposed to be only for the show," Vseslav replied calmly.
"Oh, so that's how it is? You know about her… I'm not surprised, actually. I had a feeling that all that was just a piece of something bigger. It just seemed so bizarre for someone like her to decide out of the blue to willingly cross paths with me for a second time only to challenge me to a battle. So, I take it that she was your pawn? And you must be the mastermind behind this farce… Who are you and what's your purpose?"
"Please, don't rush your judgment, Count. I have no pawns. Rather, I myself started this game as a pawn on another's chessboard – only so that I could make it mine. The mastermind behind this farce is a human with a monstrous heart. I, on the other hand, have been trying to become the exact inverse of that, ever since I realized who I was by birth."
"By birth, you say? I'm curious tenfold now," Alucard grinned excitedly, "I sense a thrilling continuation of this night! Don't test my patience and tell me who you are so that I know whom I'm about to fight. Because that was your objective, wasn't it? You wanted to fight me, am I correct? And to get to that point, you acted on a whim of someone else. Speaking of which, who is that person? No one can expect to fire a shot at Hellsing and then simply walk away."
"Well, there wasn't just one shot," Vseslav smirked, "He fired two… and he missed both of them. His aim was perfect, but his bullets… well… one of them was just an empty shell, and the other one had mind of its own. I hope that you are not going to ask me to elaborate. All you need to know is that you can focus on this moment, here and now. You have nothing else to worry about, trust me. How about I make you a deal, Count. I'll tell you who that wannabe monster is if you beat me. And if you don't – then I'll kill him myself. His being sickens me to the bottom of my heart, which, I dare to hope, is not nearly as black as his, despite that I'm about one millennium older than he is. My name is Vseslav, Count Dracula. It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance. As one ancient monster to another."
"Really?" Alucard sounded surprised and anticipating at the same time, "Vseslav the Seer? The most famous mystical legend of Slavs? The brief ruler of Kiev and then Polotsk in the eleventh century, who was believed to have been a werewolf?"
"So, you have read the pages of history that have been dedicated to me. But in all fairness, nothing less is expected of a person who has carried his title of nobility for more than six hundred years, Count."
"Well, it was personal interest, as you probably understand. A monster learning about other monsters. But to be honest, I have always believed that accounts of your dark side were nothing more than folk tales. If you are telling the truth, then the pleasure to meet you is all mine, Prince of Polotsk!"
"Why would I lie about things that like that, Count? Or prince? Which one do you prefer? Since you are referring to me by my once-held title, I'm obliged to reciprocate. So?"
"Either one is fine," Alucard grinned, "I have earned them both after I became what I am, even though I have only done that out of dire necessity."
"There is no need to explain yourself, Count. Not to me, that is. Having been born a monster into the world of humans, I've come to understand both sides of the deal. Besides, does it really matter how much we know and understand about each other? The only thing that matters is that both of us are ancient monster in one way or another, and neither of us has had a worthy opponent for quite a while. Does that about sum it up? And if so, why don't we just indulge our natures without further bothersome ado? Let's have it, Count!"
"My thoughts exactly!" Alucard exclaimed excitedly, spreading his arms apart, "Brace yourself, Prince of Polotsk! This battle will only be over with the death of at least one of us!"
"It better be so, because I won't have it any other way, Count!"
Both of them started rapidly transforming into their monstrous selves. Releasing an enormous flock of shadowy bats out of himself, Alucard turned into a large amorphous shadow with multiple arms. At the same time, Vseslav's body doubled in size and acquired his full bestial form, with massive bone-crushing jaw and blade-like claws. They charged at each other and a breathtaking fight ensued. Roaring and growling crazedly, they were tearing each other apart and immediately healing the damage, while at the same time laying waste to everything around them. At one point one of Alucard's shadowy arms managed to rip Vseslav's head clean off. Contrary to what could be expected in such situation, his decapitated body continued fighting. With his claws, covered in his flaring aura, he slashed through Alucard multiple times, literally causing his shadowy body to momentarily separate into floating pieces. While they were joining back together, Vseslav used the brief pause to retrieve his head and re-attached it right on the spot.
Awestruck by the terrifying and magnificent sight of such battle between two overwhelmingly powerful monsters, one of which was her Master, Seras realized that she had to reconsider her position only when a falling tree almost landed on her. She backed away somewhat clumsily, stumbled and fell on her back, watching the tree crush on the spot where she stood just a moment ago.
"Make sure to stay out of the way, Seras," she heard Alucard's voice in her mind, "And just a fair warning if you are planning to watch – this is only going to get uglier. But I want you to watch. I want you to realize once again what I can be. For a monster of my magnitude, there are no limits to how much vileness I can harvest within. Look at it and understand how much I appreciate your limits, Seras! Now, watch and see why you must preserve them and never become me! The night is so young, and the fun has just begun!"
Understanding by the racket what was happening deep in the forest and still sitting in his concealed location in the tree, Eye smirked.
"Well, it's finally time for the big ones," he muttered sarcastically to himself, "And I better get to see something this time. It's bad enough that I didn't get to see what happened between that kick-ass bitch and that psycho named Victor. Even his gaze is messed up. When he stares at you, it's like he's eating you from inside. And it looks like she had him, dammit. What a surprise. I bet that that was an awesome watch. But if I don't get to see anything now, I will be pretty pissed. How often do you get to see two freaks like that going against each other? But let's just hope that they keep it up at the large scale and clear the area a little. I bet that the landscape will suffer some drastic changes… "
He then realized that there was another kind of sound, and it was coming from above. He looked up and saw a helicopter in sky. It surprised him, because he knew that, according to the plan, the local authorities were supposed to have been ordered to stay clear of the area, knowing that Hellsing was on the scene. He was surprised even more when the helicopter started descending and landed in the open area where the police officer had left his vehicle. Anticipating interesting development, Eye lifted his crossbow and aimed it in direction of the helicopter, waiting for the pilot to come out. He was completely taken aback when the pilot finally came out. His astonishment then quickly changed into satisfaction.
"Oh, look who we have here," he said to himself and smiled roguishly, "Grandma Integra Hellsing personally arrives on the scene. That means at least three things… Number one, she is quite a remarkable granny, being able to fly a helicopter by herself at her age. Number two, the Moonshadow fucked up. Suits him well. And number three, it appears that I ultimately get to take the stage. Who would have thought that 'Development C' would be in order? I didn't even consider it to be a viable alternative. But mister Alhambra certainly did – and rightly so. As they say, granny Hellsing, 'It's the quiet ones you gotta watch.' Everything seemed to have worked out, and you were stupid enough to have decided to come here alone. And in this case, luck doesn't favor the dumb. I'm sorry, my dear, but mister Alhambra wants you dead, so nothing personal… Oh, who am I kidding? I'm just dying to drop you! I have never let unsuspecting prey just walk away. You story ends here, Integra Hellsing… you will be missed… oh, not really…"
He aimed for a moment, pulled the trigger and followed the bolt to its target. As he watched the body collapse on the ground, another pair of eyes was doing exactly the same thing. Sitting on the driver seat of a car that was secretly parked behind a large bush about one kilometer away, at the turn of the road, Bennet smiled contently and lowered the binoculars with night vision.
"There is definitely no shortage of idiots in this world, is there, Sir Integra?"